Authors

Kirill Polkov¹;  ¹ Södertörns Högskola, Sweden

Discussion

This paper explores the geopolitical polarization around LGBTQ issues and its impact on the experiences of queer migrants from Russia, a country that have profiled itself as transnational proponent of “traditional values”. Fleeing state-sanctioned homophobia in their home country, migrants encounter new forms of exclusion in Sweden, a country whose homonationalist migration politics has taken a restrictive turn while explicitly stating its intention to prioritize LGBTQ refugees. Previous studies in Russian queer migration research have described queer migrants’ complex negotiations with local Russian diasporas. However, less attention in research has been paid to the symbolic role ascribed to LGBTQ people in different national political projects and what this may concretely entail for Russian queer migrant experiences, especially against the background of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Drawing on biographical semi-structured interviews, I consider a range of migrant trajectories in terms of displacement, reception, and possibilities to settle and rebuild life. Combining theoretical insights from social reproduction theory and critical kinship studies, a specific focus is placed on the ways in which identifications are negotiated in relation to public discourses on sexuality and on the role of social relationships and support networks in managing emotional and material vulnerabilities. The concept of queer transculturation is used to explore how ideas, knowledge and resources circulate among queer migrants within and between the national contexts in the global North and West/East. Thus, a key contribution of the paper consists in shedding light on the effects of macro-political struggles on everyday lives, acknowledging how current politicizations of LGBTQ issues generate, strengthen, and disrupt support structures within and across borders.